Flute issues

[UpAndAdam]

Hey guys! Y'all have been very helpful in the past so I thought I would come here to ask a few questions.

I'm having issues keeping my plates evenly stacked, I understand that towards the end of a run my bottom plates will lose action and not be so bubbly but I'm having issues getting my bottom plates to hold any sort of light fluffies even from the beginning.

I'm running 100gallons on a 500 liter boiler with 4x 6in plates, the boiler has 4x 5500w elements and I'm running them all @65% power. I'm stacking anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour and only getting light fluffies on my 3rd plate and slightly fewer light fluffies on my 4th plate, the bottom 2 look more or less like boiling water.

It's also taking me between 8 and 10 hours to run everything off, is this normal?
It seems that everything I read about these plated stills has a comment about how fast they are, and although I have no problem stilling for that long I want to make sure that I am also being efficient.

What am I doing wrong?



This is the first time in 4 years of distilling that I've run a flute like this and I just want to get my head wrapped around it.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Post your DSP in your profile line before anyone goes any further with this thread.

Thank you.

[UpAndAdam]

Fair enough, I'll post it when I get to the brewery in the morning.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Awesome! Thanks for the DSP. Hopefully the members can get you ther info you need.

[UpAndAdam]

Thank you, sorry if I violated any rules.

[StillerBoy]

You stated that

I'm running 100gallons on a 500 liter boiler with 4x 6in plates,

I read that as 6" column with 4 plates.. and it's your first go with this flute..

Question.. was it built by yourself or purchased, and what kind of plates and setup are they.

Mars

[bluefish_dist]

At the start of takeoff I can pull 1.5l every 6 min on my setup, 12000w, 6" 2 plates, 120 gallon boiler, VM head. It slows down later in the run, usually 8-10 hrs for a run. I could go faster with more power, but I only have 12000w which gives a 2.5 to 3 hr warmup depending on the time of year.

Plates stay loaded the whole time, but I increase reflux during the run to keep the abv from dropping too much.

[HDNB]

more heat, more reflux and more ABV (ina mash), will fill them.

with full cooling will the deflag hold back all the heat you have?

[MoonBreath]

That would be my first thought, more reflux, and enough heat to boil and push it.
Then you get to thinkn equipment..Distance between your plates..Are all of the plates exactly the same, or different design or vender.
I actually have mismatched bubble plates, same vender, just 2nd gen improved longer slots and bigger holes in the inserts..Had to mix and match to get it pooling proper.
Rc size and consistant cooling temp strong enough to stop flow and flood it all along with enough heat to boil the whole thing...Overkill ifn you will.
Gotta have overkill when it comes to distilling.

[UpAndAdam]

The still was purchased before I was hired unfortunately, the plates are all the same and equal distance they are simply perforated, fixed plates. My mashes have been between 7 and 8%

I will reply more later today, it's been a busy weekend.

[emptyglass]

Its just your settings, keep playing with it.

Will take you 3 runs to get it running, and 10 to get it sorted.

Hang in there.

[LWTCS]

What Empty said.

With perfs, the heat input and RR need to match up a bit more closely with the hole diameter / active area / inactive area on the plate.

Keep playing with it. Just remember to keep keep your adjustments minimally incremental and allow for the system to acclimate to the adjustment.
Taking notes can be helpful to replicate desirable behavior.